Science & Technology archives: March-April 2005

• 29 April 2005
  "Using ocean data collected by diving floats, U.S. climate scientists released a study Thursday that they said provides the 'smoking gun' that ties manmade greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. They said the findings confirm that computer models of climate change are on target and that global temperatures will rise 1 degree Fahrenheit this century, even if greenhouse gases are capped tomorrow. If emissions instead continue to grow, as expected, things could spin 'out of our control,' especially as ocean levels rise from melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the NASA-led scientists said. 'The climate system could reach a point where large sea level change is practically impossible to avoid.' The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, is the latest to report growing certainty about global warming projections." Learn more at MSNBC.com.

• 28 April 2005
  "A handheld device can generate tiny nuclear-fusion reactions at room temperatures, UCLA researchers reported Thursday. This development, which scientists heralded as "amazing," has no practical application at the moment but lots of potential. Not strong enough to produce either power or explosions, the new gadget produces at most about 800 neutrons each second, a puny amount. But the device may one day become a cheaper and more precise way to screen airport baggage or to propel small spacecraft, say the device's creators. 'It makes me marvel at Mother Nature,' says UCLA's Seth Putterman, co-author of the study published in today's Nature journal. Nuclear fusion forges a single heavy atom out of two lighter ones, releasing energy and neutrons. Neutrons penetrate materials, leading to their use in screening baggage and hunting for oil wells." Learn more at USA Today.

• 27 April 2005
  "The debate over the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research has been batted between Congress, President Bush, state legislatures, and the United Nations. Now it's about to go from high-level politicians to local review boards. That's one likely result of new guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research released Tuesday by the influential National Academy of Sciences, a private nonprofit group that advises the government. The guidelines call for new oversight committees to be formed at all institutions conducting such research. While the panel outlined numerous recommendations, these local committees would set their own standards. The local committees would include researchers, experts in law and ethics, and members of the general public. Although compliance with the guidelines is voluntary, the National Academy of Sciences is asking researchers, professional societies, and groups that fund medical research to back the idea." Learn more in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 26 April 2005
  "UÍGE, Angola - Traditional healers here say their grandmothers knew of a bleeding disease similar to the current epidemic of hemorrhagic fever that has killed 244 of the 266 people who have contracted it. The grandmothers even had a treatment for the sickness, the healers told Dr. Boris I. Pavlin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the remedy has been lost. The old disease was called kifumbe, the word in the Kikongo language for murder. But kifumbe did not seem to be contagious. And so, Dr. Pavlin said, though he did not doubt it was real, it was probably not the same as the disease in Uíge today. The current disease, caused by the Marburg virus, is contagious. Like the Ebola virus, to which it is closely related, it is spread by bodily fluids like blood, vomit and saliva. No one can say for sure what kifumbe was, and in some ways the Marburg virus is almost as mysterious." Learn why the recent Marburg outbreak has doctors so puzzled in the New York Times.

• 25 April 2005
  "It is possible to read someone’s mind by remotely measuring their brain activity, researchers have shown. The technique can even extract information from subjects that they are not aware of themselves. So far, it has only been used to identify visual patterns a subject can see or has chosen to focus on. But the researchers speculate the approach might be extended to probe a person’s awareness, focus of attention, memory and movement intention. In the meantime, it could help doctors work out if patients apparently in a coma are actually conscious. Scientists have already trained monkeys to move a robotic arm with the power of thought and to recreate scenes moving in front of cats by recording information directly from the feline’s neurons. But these processes involve implanting electrodes into their brains to hook them up to a computer." Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 22 April 2005
  "Suspended animation has been deliberately induced in a species of mouse which does not naturally hibernate. It is the first time such a feat has been achieved, say the procedure’s pioneers. If a similar response could be triggered in humans, there would be major healthcare benefits and the futuristic idea of putting astronauts into suspended animation on long-haul space flights could move a step closer to reality. The mice were induced to fall into their deep sleep after being exposed to hydrogen sulphide - the gas which gives rotten eggs and stink bombs their characteristic foul odour. The animals later revived in ordinary air...High levels of hydrogen sulphide have been known to kill people working in sewers and petrochemical plants. But research on rodents showed that certain low levels appeared to kill the animals, only for them to recover later." Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 21 April 2005
  "In some ways, they are the Indiana Joneses of the 21st century. Bioprospectors head into the deepest parts of the jungle, scale the highest mountains and, generally, brave extreme conditions in their quest for 'green gold' -- plants and animals with commercially valuable properties. With the Amazon alone harboring medicinal plants capable of treating anything from parasite infections to malaria, toothaches to diabetes, the potential rewards are astronomical. But who will reap them? Just as when the mythical Jones plundered foreign lands for ancient treasures, there is some controversy over who will benefit from any discoveries. For example, if a cure for, say, cancer is found in the Amazon, how much credit -- and payment -- will go to tribal people who might have provided expert help?" Learn more in Wired News.

• 20 April 2005
  "An atom-smashing fireball experiment has physicists puzzling over existing theories about the moments after the "Big Bang" that scientists say created the universe. Researchers conducted the experiment over the past three years at the Energy Department's Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York. Thousands of collisions of gold atoms took place in the laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider facility. The goal was to create a charged gas that was more than 1 trillion degrees, up to 150,000 times hotter than the sun's core. This was the climate scientists believe followed the Big Bang. Instead, the collisions created pinprick-size fireballs with matter that behaved like a high-temperature liquid, rather than a gas, for its infinitesimally brief existence, the team reported Monday." Learn more in USA Today.

• 19 April 2005
  "Several scientists have used embryonic or fetal stem cells to help rodents with spinal cord injuries walk again. The researchers travel the country showing videos of rats dragging their hind legs, followed by clips of them miraculously hopping around following stem-cell injections. The question now, especially in the minds of the 250,000 people in the United States with spinal cord injuries, is: When will the research transfer into helping humans? The answer depends on who you ask. Some scientists believe it could happen as soon as the end of this year. Others say that's too soon, and data from larger animals such as dogs or monkeys is necessary before researching with humans...The controversy surrounding embryonic and fetal stem-cell research means the first human clinical trial using the cells will be under a microscope in more ways than one, he said. If something goes awry, opponents of killing embryos for research will be poised to quash future research." Learn more in Wired News.

• 18 April 2005
  "The answer to global warming may be blowing in the wind. It's probably also driving on four wheels and could be in your next tank of gas. Scientists are cooking up solutions based on current technology that they say could dramatically turn down the heat of global warming over the next 50 years. Innovations such as cheaper wind power, gas-electric hybrid cars and gas cards that generate funds for climate change projects already are available. Introducing them across the nation could put a dent in the growth of greenhouse gases that are warming the planet, scientists say. Scientists say further warming is inevitable as greenhouse gas emissions climb but that the worse effects can still be avoided. 'The question now is not "whether to adapt?" but 'how to adapt?"' says a 2004 U.N. report on climate change." An article in CNN.com discusses some of the ways global warming may be addressed in the future.

• 15 April 2005
  "The European Union could save up to 161 billion euros a year by reducing deaths caused by air pollution, the World Health Organization has said. Air pollution reduces the life of the average European by 8.6 months. The toxic particles in pollution increase deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and the price of treating these ailments is costly. However, EU plans to cut pollution by 2010 should on average save 2.3 months of life for each European, WHO says. This is the equivalent of preventing 80,000 premature deaths and saving over one million years of life across the European Union...WHO says plans to manage air quality at the local, regional and national levels need to be integrated. Cutting traffic at the local level may help reduce the exposure of people living in pollution hotspots, but will not help the society as a whole." Learn more at the BBC.com.

• 14 April 2005
  "Nanotechnology's biggest impact on millions in the developing world could be in better energy production and storage methods, according to a report. A panel of 63 specialists worldwide was asked by the Canadian Joint Centre for Bioethics (JCB) to identify the most promising areas of nanotech. The panel said nanosciences could also significantly improve agriculture. The nanotech impact study is reported in PLoS Medicine, the US-based Public Library of Science journal. It is the first to rank nanotechnologies and nanoscience's potential influence relative to development, according to the authors...The authors also recommend an initiative - called Addressing Global Challenges Using Nanotechnology - should be launched to encourage the development of nanotechnologies targeted at developing nations." Learn more in the BBC.com.

• 13 April 2005
  "The creation of a migratory map of mankind is the goal of a five-year project unveiled today by genetics researchers. The privately funded 'Genographic Project' is an effort to collect gene samples from 100,000 people worldwide that may reveal patterns in their DNA. Population geneticists in the USA, Brazil, France, Lebanon, South Africa, United Kingdom, Russia, India, China and Australia will take part. 'The relevance of the work is we are all, in effect, cousins, separated by a few generations,' says population geneticist Spencer Wells, the project's director, alluding to modern man's origins in ancient Africa.In addition to field research among hundreds of indigenous groups, the project will sell $99 cheek-swabbing kits for anyone curious about their genes. Funds from the kits will finance further project work on human genetic history." Learn more about this ambitious project in USA Today. Also, visit the Genographic project website.

• 12 April 2005
  "A knitted bag holds a weakened heart, helping it pump blood. Electricity flows through the threads of a battery-powered fleece jacket, keeping the wearer warm. Carbon fibers are braided into structures that look like mushrooms, but are actually prototypes of automotive engine valves. Other fibers are shaped into bicycle frames and sculling oars. Textiles are no longer just the stuff of clothing, carpets and furniture covering. Made of high-tech threads, they can also be found in lifesaving medical devices and the bodies of racing cars. One architect is proposing building a skyscraper out of carbon fibers...Threads made of a wide variety of new materials, including metals, carbon fibers and high-strength materials like Kevlar, have further widened the use of textiles. Chemical coatings stiffen them or add additional properties like fire resistance." Learn more about some of the high-tech ways textiles are being used, in the New York Times.

• 11 April 2005
  "A team of Japanese genetic scientists aims to bring woolly mammoths back to life and create a Jurassic Park-style refuge for resurrected species. The effort has garnered new attention as a frozen mammoth is drawing crowds at the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi, Japan. The team of scientists, which is not associated with the exhibit, wants to do more than just put a carcass on display. They aim to revive the Ice Age plant-eaters, 10,000 years after they went extinct. Their plan: to retrieve sperm from a mammoth frozen in tundra, use it to impregnate an elephant, and then raise the offspring in a safari park in the Siberian wild. 'If we create a mammoth, we will know much more about these animals, their history, and why they went extinct,' said Kazufumi Goto, head scientist at the Mammoth Creation Project." Learn more in the National Geographic.

• 8 April 2005
  "If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation maker Sony Corp. has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain. The technique could one day be used to create video games in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or to help people who are blind or deaf. The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce 'sensory experiences' such as smells, sounds and images. 'The pulsed ultrasonic signal alters the neural timing in the cortex,' the patent states. 'No invasive surgery is needed to assist a person, such as a blind person, to view live and/or recorded images or hear sounds.'" Learn more at CNN.com.

• 7 April 2005
  "The cartoon superheroes were frustrated. They confronted a menacing robot that quickly repaired any damage they inflicted. It was made up of a swarm of microscopic robots - so-called nanobots - that could change its function and shape at will. Suddenly the swarm became fluid and flowed away. That cartoon scenario may seem entertaining. But the reality is startling. Engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration want to pull off a similar trick. They are testing a robot that they hope to shrink to nanobot size and eventually form what NASA calls 'autonomous nanotechnology swarms' (ANTS). The researchers aim to give ANTS enough artificial intelligence to make smart decisions as well as know intuitively when and how to walk and swarm." Learn more in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 6 April 2005
  "An outbreak of Marburg, an Ebola-like virus, had killed at least 150 people in Angola as of yesterday, making it the deadliest outbreak of the rare Marburg disease ever recorded. Scientists are puzzled by the epidemic's remarkably high fatality rate. So far, the Angolan Ministry of Health has reported 163 cases of the hemorrhagic fever, putting the fatality rate around 90 percent. In previous outbreaks, the disease has had a fatality rate as low as 25 percent. This time, at least 75 percent of the victims have been children under the age of five. 'This is something we haven't seen in previous Marburg outbreaks,' said David Daigle, a spokesperson for the infectious disease program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. There is no known cure for the virus." Learn more in the National Geographic.

• 5 April 2005
  "Fifteen years ago, scientists heralded gene therapy as a medical revolution that would quickly bring cures for crippling and deadly diseases. After more than 900 clinical trials, however, gene scientists can claim few real successes, and even the technology's longtime supporters say gene therapy has developed far more slowly than they had expected. 'Everybody realizes that using a gene as a drug is a good idea,' says Ronald Crystal, chairman of genetic medicine at Cornell University's Weill Medical College. 'The difficulty is making it work.' Experts say the story of the treatment of 10 sick children at a Paris hospital, which made news in March, illustrates the technology's promise as well as its challenges. The boys were born with a rare and lethal genetic disorder that left them without working immune systems." Learn more in USA Today.

• 4 April 2005
  "In the movie Terminator 2, the villain is a robot made of liquid metal. He morphs from human form to helicopter and back again with ease, moulds himself into any shape without breaking, and can even flow under doorways. Now a similar-sounding futuristic material is about to turn up everywhere. It is called metallic glass. In the past year, researchers have made metallic glass three times stronger than the best industrial steel and 10 times springier. Almost a match for the Terminator, in other words. Metallic glass sounds like an oxymoron, and in a way it is. It describes a metal alloy with a chaotic structure. While metal atoms normally arrange themselves in ordered arrays, or crystals, the atoms in a metallic glass are a disordered jumble, rather like the atoms in a liquid or a glass. And although strictly speaking a metallic glass isn't a liquid, because the atoms are fixed in place, one company is already marketing the stuff as 'liquid metal.'" Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 1 April 2005
  "A slew of Northeastern states, claiming that the Bush administration's new rules on mercury pollution do too little, too late, have initiated challenges demanding tougher restrictions. Long considered one of the most contaminated regions, as pollutants travel "downwind" from the industrial Midwest and beyond and settle in New England, many of these states already have tough regulations in place but say much more needs to be done. In the most recent move, New Jersey and eight other states - five of them in New England - filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the federal government, contending that the new rule fails to protect children and pregnant women from toxins released into the air...In New Hampshire last week, a bill passed in the Senate that would reduce emissions from state plants more aggressively than the Environmental Protection Agency mandates. Learn more about these states' efforts to curb pollution in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 31 March 2005
  "A 'bionic eye' may one day help blind people see again, according to US researchers who have successfully tested the system in rats. The eye implant - a 3-millimetre-wide chip that would fit behind the retina - could be a dramatic step above currently available technology, says the team at Stanford University, California, US. About 1.5 million people worldwide have a disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and 700,000 people in the western world are diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration each year. In both degenerative diseases, retinal cells at the back of the eye that process light gradually die...For the device to work, the microchip would have to be implanted behind the retina of the blind person. The patient would wear goggles mounted with a small video camera. Light enters the camera, which then sends the image to a wireless wallet-sized computer for processing." Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 30 March 2005
  "The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. The study contains what its authors call 'a stark warning' for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself. 'Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted,' it says." Learn more in the Guardian.

• 29 March 2005
  "Camels and caravans once carried vast treasures into Afghanistan along the Silk Road. Today, in the aftermath of two decades of civil war, technology is beginning to return some of that wealth to the shattered country. Although deeply divided by geography and ethnicity, a nascent technological boom in Afghanistan is spreading beyond the cities and has the potential to reshape the country. 'Two years ago, when we went into Afghanistan, there wasn't' even a working road grader in the whole country,' said Harry Reid of USAID, the government aid agency. He said that most advanced technology were mine detectors. Today, this country of 29 million has more than 662,500 people using mobile phones, reports the GSM Association, a cellular trade group. Afghanistan's Internet domain, .af, was awarded in March 2003 and Web cafes are springing up around Kabul. Microsoft is even inserting phrases of Afghanistan's two dominant languages, Dari and Pashto, into its software." Learn more in CNN.com.

• 28 March 2005
  "After decades of hype, speculation, and multimillion-dollar laboratory research, the long-promised nanotechnology revolution is finally coming to a store near you. For proof, check out the transparent sunscreens, spillproof pants, and tennis rackets with extra pop now on sale. Nanotechnology gets its name from the nanometer, a unit of measurement that is one billionth of a meter. A human hair is about 20,000 nanometers thick. Scientists say materials and devices manufactured at the nanoscale promise to change life as we know it. 'I'd say [nanotechnology] has the potential to be truly revolutionary,' said Gregory Rorrer, a chemical engineer at Oregon State University in Corvallis. 'That's why there's so much interest in it right now.' Rorrer is less than a year into a four-year, 1.3-million-dollar (U.S.) grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a process to produce nanostructured semiconductor materials using single-celled marine organisms called diatoms." Learn more in National Geographic.

• 25 March 2005
  "It's taken 10 years since the first Jupiter-like planet was discovered around a sun-like star, but for astronomers searching for worlds beyond our solar system, it's been worth the wait. This week, two teams working independently announced the first unambiguous detection of light from planets orbiting other sun-like stars. The achievements, researchers say, help set humanity on the doorstep of a golden age in exploring solar systems beyond our own. Until now astronomers have detected their quarry through fleeting shadows or the subtle quiver of underbrush. They've had to rely on the faint dimming of a star as a planet swings in front of it or, more often, tiny wobbles that planets impart to their parent stars as they orbit. Although the technique the two teams used also is indirect, it finally reveals infrared light coming directly from the planets. Learn more in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 24 March 2005
  "Can animal genes be jammed into plants? Would tomatoes with catfish genes taste fishy? Have you ever eaten a genetically modified food? The answers are: yes, no and almost definitely. But according to a survey, most Americans couldn't answer correctly even though they've been eating genetically modified foods — unlabeled — for nearly a decade. 'It’s just not on the radar screen,' said William Hallman, associate director of the Food Biotechnology Program at the Rutgers Food Policy Institute, which conducted the survey. Today, roughly 75 percent of U.S. processed foods — boxed cereals, other grain products, frozen dinners, cooking oils and more — contain some genetically modified, or GM, ingredients, said Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers of America. Despite dire warnings about 'Frankenfoods,' there have been no reports of illness from these products of biotechnology. Critics note there’s no system for reporting allergies or other reactions to GM foods." Learn more in MSNBC.com.

• 23 March 2005
  "When the Honda Corporation recently unveiled the latest version of Asimo, a four-foot-tall humanoid playfully named after the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, a digital video of the robot generated the kind of enthusiasm on the Internet that is usually reserved for Paris Hilton’s home movies. The new incarnation of Asimo not only walked with a convincing bipedal gait but also accelerated smoothly from a leisurely stroll to a full-on trot. It was mesmerizing—and comic—to see the sleek white machine jogging across a stage as if it were a harried commuter trying to catch a bus. A jogging robot captures our imagination because we’re easily impressed by skills that mimic our own. But a robot that runs isn't necessarily better than one that doesn't. The future of robotics lies beyond mimicking humans and in machines that transform themselves into configurations based on changing circumstances." Learn more in Discover.

• 22 March 2005
  "A self-replicating 3D printer that spawns new, improved versions of itself is in development at the University of Bath in the UK. The 'self replicating rapid prototyper' or RepRap could vastly reduce the cost of 3D printers, paving the way for a future where broken objects and spare parts are simply 're-printed' at home. New and unique objects could also be created. 3D printing - also known as 'rapid prototyping' - transforms a blueprint on a computer into a real object by building up a succession of layers. The material is bonded by either fusing it with a laser or by using alternating layers of glue. When it first emerged in the mid-1990s, futurists predicted that there would be a 3D printer in every home. But they currently cost $25,000 (£13,000) and so have not caught on as a household item, says Terry Wohlers, an analyst at Wohlers Associates, a rapid prototyping consulting firm in Fort Collins, Colorado, US." Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 21 March 2005
  "Tired of global warming? Get used to it. Even if humans stop burning oil and coal tomorrow—not likely—we've already spewed enough greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to cause temperatures to warm and sea levels to rise for at least another century. That's the message from two studies appearing in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science. Researchers used computer models of the global climate system to put numbers to the concept of thermal inertia—the idea that global climate changes are delayed because it water takes longer to heat up and cool off than air does. The oceans are the primary drivers of the global climate. "Even if you stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases, you are still committed to a certain amount of climate change no matter what you do because of the lag in the ocean," said Gerald Meehl, a climate scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado." Learn more in National Geographic.

• 18 March 2005
  "One of the hurdles to using human embryonic stem cells to treat disease has been overcome. Three teams have managed to derive and grow the cells without using any animal cells that might contaminate them. The hope is that embryonic stem cells (ESCs), the primitive cells in embryos from which all our tissues originate, can be grown into transplantable tissues for treating a multitude of disorders, from diabetes to osteoporosis. But until now it has been impossible to grow them without mouse 'feeder cells' and animal-derived serum. That means all existing ESC lines, including those approved for federally funded research in the US by President Bush, could be tainted with animal diseases or substances that would trigger transplant rejection. Now, Paul De Sousa and his team at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, where Dolly the sheep was cloned, have produced what they say are the first animal-free ESCs." Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 17 March 2005
  "As rovers and orbiters continue to scour Mars for more signs of water and the potential for extraterrestrial life, space scientists and enthusiasts are champing at the bit to put humans on the red planet. In recent months, spacecraft roaming and orbiting Earth's closest neighbor have identified regions where large supplies of water may be accessible from the surface. They have also located areas where gases such as methane could support oxygen-producing bacterial life. Such discoveries are raising the possibility that life lives on Mars today, did so in the past, and with the help of humans, could do so in the future. To find out for sure, space scientists and enthusiasts say humans need to travel to Mars. 'There's no question we'll ultimately go there. It's a matter of when, not if,' said Lynn Rothschild, an astrobiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center." Learn more in the National Geographic.

• 16 March 2005
  "The UK Chancellor has urged countries to work together for a healthier climate to ensure economic prosperity. Gordon Brown was addressing ministers from 20 countries, who are meeting to discuss climate change and how to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. He told delegates that the UK had managed to cut carbon emissions without harming economic growth. Mr Brown said economies could only flourish if the environment on which they depended was looked after. 'If our economies are to flourish, if global poverty is to be banished, and the well-being of the world's people enhanced, we must make sure we take care of the natural environment and resources on which our economic activity depends,' Mr Brown said in his speech." Learn more at the BBC.com.

• 15 March 2005
  "Health experts are watching the spread of deadly bird flu among humans with increasing concern after doctors reported a second suspected case yesterday among medical staff treating a victim. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given a warning that the flu, which has killed 47 people in Asia, could mutate into a form that spreads quickly between humans and trigger a global pandemic. Britain has stockpiled more than 14m courses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu at a cost of £200m, enough to treat a quarter of the population. The bird flu has a mortality rate of 60-80% and the government says 50,000 people could die if it takes hold here — four times the number who die each year from influenza. So far there have been five suspected instances of bird flu among poultry in Britain, but no human cases." Learn more in Britain's Times Online.

• 14 March 2005
  "While scientists worldwide are only studying stem cells, dozens of Russian clinics and beauty salons claim they are already using both adult and embryonic stem cells to treat everything from wrinkles to Parkinson's disease to impotence. Scientists warn that while stem cells are still being researched in laboratories, treatment by clinics claiming to use stem cells may cost patients their health and fortunes. Moreover, they say, even though it's illegal, enforcement is lax and no one knows if the injections patients are getting contain stem cells... In leading clinics around the world, most stem cell research is limited to the lab dish and animals. In Russia, however, it's a different story." Learn more about this Russian stem cell craze, in Yahoo News.

• 11 March 2005
  "The United States is no longer No. 1 in making the best use of information and communications technologies (ICT), a new study says. It dropped to fifth place this year and Singapore is now on top. Singapore's ranking in the so-called "Networked Readiness Index" was based on several factors, including quality of math and science education and low prices for telephone and Internet services, said the World Economic Forum report. 'Singapore's remarkable performance is a consequence of the government's consistent and continuous efforts' to foster the technology, the report said. Augusto Lopez-Claros, co-editor of the report, praised Singapore for its ability 'to make, in a relatively short period of time, enormous progress in putting (the technology) at the service of improved living standards.'" Learn more at CNN.com.

• 10 March 2005
  "It will look like any ordinary mouse, but for America's scientists a tiny animal threatens to ignite a profound ethical dilemma. In one of the most controversial scientific projects ever conceived, a group of university researchers in California's Silicon Valley is preparing to create a mouse whose brain will be composed entirely of human cells. Researchers at Stanford University have already succeeded in breeding mice with brains that are one per cent human cells. In the next stage they plan to use stem cells from aborted foetuses to create an animal whose brain cells are 100 per cent human. Prof Irving Weissman, who heads the university's Institute of Cancer/Stem Cell Biology, believes that the mice could produce a breakthrough in understanding how stem cells might lead to a cure for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease." Learn more in The Telegraph.

• 9 March 2005
  "The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday urged governments to ban all human cloning, including the cloning of human embryos for stem-cell research, in a divided vote that handed a symbolic victory to the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Capping four years of contentious debate, the 191-nation assembly voted 84 to 34, with 37 abstentions, to approve a nonbinding statement on cloning. The United States did not play a public role in promoting the statement. But it had worked behind the scenes, hand-in-hand with U.S. anti-abortion groups, to obtain a call for a blanket ban on all cloning. The measure was proposed by Honduras and generally supported by predominantly Roman Catholic countries, in line with Pope John Paul's condemnation of human cloning. It was generally opposed by nations where stem-cell research is being pursued." Learn more at CNN.com.

• 8 March 2005
  "'Go to the ant, thou sluggard,' King Solomon advised in the Book of Proverbs Chapter Six, 'consider her ways and be wise'. Humans have always looked at the little beasts - so efficient, so purposeful and yet so different from us - and puzzled over what they have to tell us. The cultural historian Charlotte Sleigh, author of Ant (Reaktion Books 2003) says that in every age we have re-interpreted the mysteries of the ant colony to suit our own ideas...When our present technology-driven society considers the ant, the aim is not to find moral guidance or to admire a perfect political system, but to gather clues that will help us to solve technical problems. In the Intelligent Autonomous Systems Laboratory at the University of the West of England, Dr Chris Melhuish presides over a fleet of 'U-bots.'" An article in the BBC.com discusses our fascination with ants and what we might learn from the tiny insects.

• 7 March 2005
  "Commercials hawking prescription drugs directly to consumers have driven doctors crazy for years. Now comes a new kind of medical marketing that is already troubling some medical professionals: at-home genetic testing. An increasing number of online startups are marketing tests that can show predisposition to any number of maladies, from breast cancer to blood clotting. They are exploiting the blizzard of genetic discoveries reported almost daily since scientists published the complete map of all human genes five years ago. The tests are cheap, easy to administer, often just a cotton swab inside the cheek, and the results are available online, cutting out the visit to the doctor's office. Plus, the companies note, the test results aren't usually jotted down on official medical histories, which keeps sensitive information away from insurance companies." Learn more in USA Today.

• 4 March 2005
  "Hardly articulate, the tiny strangleweed, a pale parasitic plant, can sense the presence of friends, foes, and food, and make adroit decisions on how to approach them. Mustard weed, a common plant with a six-week life cycle, can't find its way in the world if its root-tip statolith - a starchy 'brain' that communicates with the rest of the plant - is cut off. The ground-hugging mayapple plans its growth two years into the future, based on computations of weather patterns. And many who visit the redwoods of the Northwest come away awed by the trees' survival for millenniums - a journey that, for some trees, precedes the Parthenon. As trowel-wielding scientists dig up a trove of new findings, even those skeptical of the evolving paradigm of 'plant intelligence' acknowledge that, down to the simplest magnolia or fern, flora have the smarts of the forest." Learn more about plant intelligence in the Christian Science Monitor.

• 3 March 2005
  "Doctors may no longer make house calls, but they are answering patient e-mail messages - and being paid for it. In a move to improve efficiency and control costs, health plans and medical groups around the country are now beginning to pay doctors to reply by e-mail, just as they pay for office visits. While some computer-literate doctors have been using e-mail to communicate informally with patients for years, most have never been paid for that service. Brian Settlemoir, 39, an accountant in Folsom, Calif., recently sent an e-mail message to his doctor at the Creekside Medical Group to ask if it was time to reduce the dosage of a medicine after his cholesterol level dropped. The prompt answer was 'not yet.' 'I'm sitting at work,' Mr. Settlemoir said. 'I've got e-mail open anyway. It's much easier than calling and getting voice-mail prompts and sitting on hold. It's very valuable to me.'" Learn more in the New York Times.

• 2 March 2005
  "The coming of steam sent the world's great sailing fleets into decline. The internal combustion engine finally finished them off. So it would be a strange twist of fate if the age of sail was resurrected by what amounts to a child's toy. For several weeks last summer, a team of German engineers sailed back and forth across the Baltic Sea playing with a large inflatable kite. The engineers, from the Hamburg company SkySails, were testing the potential of high-tech kites to pull a ship across the ocean by hitching a ride on winds high above the waves. The idea isn't to propel a ship by wind alone - a conventional diesel engine will help it along on days when the wind is blowing from the wrong direction, is too strong or dies away entirely. But since the kite reduces the need to use engines, the team at SkySails believes it can halve the amount of fuel a ship burns." Learn more in the New Scientist.

• 1 March 2005
  "In popular science fiction, the power of invisibility is readily apparent. Star Trek fans, for example, know that the devious Romulans could make their spaceships suddenly disappear. But is the idea really so implausible? Not according to new findings by scientists who say they have come up with a way to create cloaking device. Electronic engineers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia are researching a device they say could make objects "nearly invisible to an observer." The contrivance works by preventing light from bouncing off the surface of an object, causing the object to appear so small it all but disappears. The concept was reported today by the science news Web site news@nature.com. It says the proposed cloaking device would not require any peripheral attachments (such as antennas or computer networks) and would reduce visibility no matter what angle an object is viewed at." Learn more in the National Geographic.

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